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Explore the Beauty of Kashmir

After decades of conflict, peace is taking hold in Kashmir, offering new opportunities to explore its traditional cultures and scenic beauty

By

Tom Downey

Oct. 5, 2015 10:44 a.m. ET

“THIS ISN’T INDIA. This is Kashmir,” a fellow passenger told me as we landed at the Srinagar airport. Now, as if cued by the scenery—striking alpine vistas of snowcapped mountains surrounding a vast lake fringed with lotus flowers and terraced Mughal-era gardens—my taxi driver says the same thing. It’s a statement I’ll hear repeated many times during my two-week visit, expressing a popular belief that Kashmiris want to live in an independent state, free of India and Pakistan. Beyond politics, it also recognizes a fundamental truth: Kashmir is culturally distinct from the rest of India.